Born a Crime

Trevor Noah is the host of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, where he gleefully provides America with its nightly dose of serrated satire....

Great book and perfect narration

By
Marilyn Armstrong
on
12-15-16

Wonder

By:
R. J. Palacio

Narrated by:
Diana Steele,
Nick Podehl,
Kate Rudd

Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins

Unabridged

Overall

8,879

Performance

7,748

Story

7,757

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school - until now....

A wonderful story for all ages!

By
Kathy
on
09-10-14

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

By:
Neil deGrasse Tyson

Narrated by:
Neil deGrasse Tyson

Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

10,149

Performance

9,081

Story

9,003

How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these questions than astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson....

Awesome book for those new to astrophysics.

By
TMort
on
06-07-17

Angels and Demons

By:
Dan Brown

Narrated by:
Richard Poe

Length: 18 hrs and 33 mins

Unabridged

Overall

9,704

Performance

5,037

Story

5,065

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist....

A Trip Inside the Vatican

By
Rachel
on
06-02-04

Ready Player One

By:
Ernest Cline

Narrated by:
Wil Wheaton

Length: 15 hrs and 46 mins

Unabridged

Overall

117,365

Performance

109,959

Story

109,740

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut.....

GOING OUTSIDE IS HIGHLY OVER RATED

By
Jim "The Impatient"
on
10-23-15

A Man Called Ove

By:
Fredrik Backman

Narrated by:
George Newbern

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Unabridged

Overall

52,755

Performance

48,268

Story

48,174

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon - the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window....

I Laughed and I Cried

By
Bill
on
08-22-15

Murder on the Orient Express

An Audible Original Drama

By:
Agatha Christie

Narrated by:
Tom Conti,
Jane Asher,
Ruta Gedmintas,
and others

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Original Recording

Overall

955

Performance

887

Story

882

What begins as a routine journey on the luxurious Orient Express soon unfurls into Agatha Christie's most famous murder mystery....

A Classic Mystery, dramatized by Audible

By
Tracy
on
11-06-17

Promise Me, Dad

A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

By:
Joe Biden

Narrated by:
Joe Biden

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Unabridged

Overall

960

Performance

862

Story

861

In November 2014, 13 members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the past 40 years....

A Sad Memoir

By
Jean
on
12-02-17

Virgins

An Outlander Short

By:
Diana Gabaldon

Narrated by:
Allan Scott-Douglas

Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins

Unabridged

Overall

1,122

Performance

1,011

Story

1,001

Mourning the death of his father and gravely injured at the hands of the English, Jamie Fraser finds himself running with a band of mercenaries in the French countryside....

More Jamie Fraser! What's not to love?

By
Carrie Arnold
on
04-20-16

Publisher's Summary

"Are there any questions?" The final line in Margaret Atwood's modern classic, The Handmaid's Tale, has teased and perplexed fans since the book's original release more than 30 years ago. Now, in this Audible Original production, listeners get some of the answers they've waited so long to hear.

Featuring an all-new interview with Professor Piexoto, written by Atwood and performed by a full cast, The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition is a must-listen for both fans and newcomers alike. Emmy Award winner Claire Danes (Homeland, Temple Grandin) gives a stirring performance of this classic in speculative fiction, where the message (and the warning) is now more timely than ever. In addition to rich sound design that honors the audio origins of Atwood's classic, the special edition also includes a brand-new afterword from the author and an essay written by author Valerie Martin (Mary Reilly, Property).

After a violent coup in the United States overthrows the Constitution and ushers in a new government regime, the Republic of Gilead imposes subservient roles on all women. Offred, now a Handmaid tasked with the singular role of procreation in the childless household of the enigmatic Commander and his bitter wife, can remember a time when she lived with her husband and daughter and had a job, before she lost everything, even her own name. Despite the danger, Offred learns to navigate the intimate secrets of those who control her every move, risking her life for mere glimpses of her former freedom, and records her story for future listeners.

Whether you're a fan of the original novel or someone who has recently discovered it, The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition will shock, impress, and satisfy all those who listen.

Critic Reviews

"Thanks to Audible, you can now pick up a new Special Edition of The Handmaid's Tale to get caught up to speed on the story of Offred, brought to life in this audiobook version by none other than Claire Danes. (Suddenly our heads are spinning with crossover potential.) Aside from the impressive voice acting alone, this audio update also contains new scenes that actually extend the story beyond the original last line of the novel." (Nerdist)

"This highly pertinent, ingeniously conceived production deepens the original work and even surpasses it." (The Washington Post)

"Danes has a calm, still voice that perfectly suits the protagonist.... So what is 'special' and new about this edition? Most of it has to do with material at the end of the book. Previous readers of the book will know that there is an afterword set centuries after the events told in the rest of the novel; it takes the form of an academic lecture that describes finding Offred's story. She never wrote it down; rather, she recorded it over a bunch of music cassette tapes. This edition actually begins each section of the novel with the sound of a 'record' button being pressed and a snatch of music referred to in the epilogue. In a sense, this makes listening to the audiobook a more authentic experience than reading it.... While the Hulu show has its points, what it lacks is the sheer poetry of Atwood's writing, which is profoundly and gorgeously highlighted by the experience of listening to the novel. Absolutely recommended." (Locus magazine)

Story

Wait! It Mightn't Be What You Think--

I already have the original version of "The Handmaid's Tale" narrated by Claire Danes, and it's fabulous. But when I saw this Special Edition with the "full cast" tag, I thought it was going to be done by Danes as the Handmaid, and a full cast for everyone else.Uh--no...It's the exact same thing, so if you've already used a credit, you might want to think about whether to purchase this or not. It does, after all have the full cast for the Symposium, and the bit with Margaret Atwood, and a brief essay which don't take up too much time exactly.IF, however, you've never listened to this--PLEASE DO!I think it's Atwood's finest, filled with rich prose, unbeatable language, and Danes is a great narrator.It is indeed important for our times as all that happens in the book is based on The President's Day Massacre--therefore, we give up rights we hold dear all in the name of fear, security. In this time when women's health is taking a beating, it's wonderful speculative fiction.It's simply the day-to-day, night-to-night, existence of one woman trapped in a new society, forced to give up, to only remember with utter agony, the life and loved ones she was torn away from. It's what she has to do to survive, where Scrabble is kinky and ungodly.Though I was disappointed that there wasn't a full cast for the book, it was really, really great to listen to this again.You wind up wishing for so much for this Handmaid, least of all: that one day she can again be important enough to at least own her own name...

WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT

What made the experience of listening to The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition the most enjoyable?

Claire Danes' Narration

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition?

LISTEN: I thought this was going to be the entire novel narrated by the full cast. Claire Danes and Tim Gerard Reynolds?! YES PLEASE.<br/><br/>BUT NO.<br/><br/>This is simply Claire Danes narrating the entire novel (wonderful job though) so if you already have a copy of the handmaiden's tale narrated by her DONT GET THIS ONE BECAUSE THE OTHER NARRATORS JUST READ THE EXTRAS TACKED ON AT THE END.

Not a full cast

I love the premise, how thought provoking it is. Claire Danes was not the right person for this book. I found her voice annoying after awhile. I like the TV series better, which has never been the case ever.

An enjoyable dystopian with a lot of truth

With the release of the series on Hulu that was based on this book, I decided to give the book a listen before watching any of the episodes. I told my wife to start it without me in case I didn't like the book or couldn't get through it.

I did have a hard time in the beginning of The Handmaid's Tale. Atwood's writing style is the epitome of the books teenagers are "forced" to read in high school that makes them feel like they don't enjoy reading. It was choppy and incredibly descriptive. For every description of something that Offred saw there were up to 5 lines about it in the book.

Honestly, that is the reason that I gave this a 4 out of 5. The story is awesome, and being written as long ago as I'm alive -- a lot of the main pillars of it are easily seen as coming true sooner rather than later. I believe that Atwood wrote this as an enigmatic "future" tale, not putting a date on it to age it. And it was written well enough that Hulu decided that they wanted to make a series out of it.

Offred was one of those characters that you both feel bad for and not. I think she was written this way so that you both feel pity for her and a little bit apathetic. By far I would not wish what Offred had to go through on anyone but at the same time, the way her character was written made it more or less blasé.

The dystopian future that Atwood created was easily what kept me reading this. It was interesting and deep. I would read more books about the lead-up and the start of the entire fall from grace. I absolutely loved her descriptions and the way that she left other things up to the reader's imagination.

If you're curious if you should pick this book up -- it really depends on how much you enjoy the story (or the writing). Some people enjoy long and over-explained diatribes (millions of Stephen King fans for example). But, don't say I didn't warn you.

Excellent

Excellent story. Very well done. I encourage you to listen to the author at the end. She answers several questions. It says "full cast", and there is one, but it is at the very end. Offred is verbally telling her story to the reader/listener and therefore no one else plays the parts of the other characters.

One of the best novels I've ever read (listened to

I can see why this is considered a classic. Fascinating, riveting, made me think about different issues and ideas that I haven't really thought about before. That to me is what makes a novel truly great.